Clearly to resteep…but why? By steeping premium tea leaves multiple times you can reveal and experience complex, nuanced flavors after each infusion. But before you jump to a second steep, let’s take a moment to understand why some teas make the resteep cut.
Premium, whole tea leaves are a must. In order to uncover complex flavors that are tucked within the leaf as it unfurls you must start with a whole leaf that has a lot to share. While the process can be repeated a second time (or even a third for our oolong teas), Todd’s favorite is the second steep.
Depending on the type of tea, steeping times and temperatures can differ. For example, green teas like our Hojicha will steep at a low 180°F for a 4 minute first steep and 5 minute second steep (it needs just a bit more time to coax out the flavors). Our Golden Tumeric will steep higher, at 212°F for a 5 minute first steep and 6 minute second steep. And because our Ruby Oolong is so tightly rolled you can give it a third steep as the leaves take longer to unfurl.
So we’ve covered the time and temp, but we also need to consider how you steep it. Tea needs room to move around, open up and infuse pure flavors in the water. You have to give the leaves their space. Use a large infuser in a cup or pot for our loose, or reach for our sachets that feature a large, loose knit material that gives the tea leaves room to open up and share their goodness (plus, did we mention that the sachet material is biodegradable and compostable). Most important, we fill our sachets with a serious dose of tea for a full-flavored cup (no weak steeps here) since gram weight does matter.
And now for the great news, starting Tuesday, Jan 3 you can buy our Tea & Tisane Collection in any of our 22 cafes, or online here!